Even with exams looming, student playwrights, directors and actors are still managing to find time and energy to prepare their work for “One-Act Plays in the Park,” a seven-play festival at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Forest Theatre.
Emily Strader is the student employment coordinator at University Career Services and also counsels students pursuing careers in the arts. We asked her questions about what recently graduated artists should do to get started in the arts world.
In 1983 actor Ray Dooley played protagonist Jack Worthing in a production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Twenty-seven years later, he returns to the play, this time in the rigid dresses of Lady Bracknell. PlayMakers Repertory Company will lend a twist of hilarity to Oscar Wilde’s comedy classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which opens today and runs until March 21.Wilde’s play, set in the Victorian era, is a witty social satire about three couples trying to find love. Connie Mahan, director of marketing and communication for PlayMakers, first suggested that Dooley play Lady Bracknell.The show’s director, Matthew Arbour, agreed that a male actor cast as a female would add to the play’s humor.
Famous trumpeter Terence Blanchard will bring his soulful sound to Memorial Hall at 8 p.m. tonight for an evening of jazz.Blanchard, a native of New Orleans, recorded his latest album at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, honoring the city after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.David Houston, the museum’s curator and director, said Blanchard brought back the soul of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with his music.“Terence gave it more soul, gave it more feeling,” Houston said. “He started thinking more of his legacy as a New Orleans tradition rather than a national reputation.”
UNC’s undergraduate theater will explore race, religion and ideology in its latest production, “The Sunset Limited.”The play, written by Cormac McCarthy, examines the opposing ideologies of two men: Black, a black ex-convict, ex-addict and reborn Christian; and White, a white professor and atheist. Black and White’s performances take place in a one-room set.
When deciding whether to enter their work in an exhibit, student artists must consider more than just the outcome. They must consider the time it takes to make the art, the exposure and any possible incentives.UNC has several groups that give students a chance to display their art — if a student’s hectic lifestyle doesn’t get in the way first.
For graduate student Ashley Benners, most mornings begin around 8 a.m. with a pouncing, white, three-legged kitten on her head.She feeds her kitten and then proceeds to fall back asleep only to rise a few hours later to begin her day.With looming schoolwork, stress and jobs, some students make time in their schedule for the companionship afforded through owning a pet.
Hidden in a nook of rustic brick buildings on West Franklin Street with a lingering scent of baked sweets, Bliss Boutique Bakery offers a modern frosting touch.While cupcakes are the signature of Bliss, the store will expand the business by launching new product campaigns this fall.“The concept of Bliss is more than just cupcakes. Although, the cupcake represents a large part of what we are about,” said Dennis Steigerwalt, the store’s strategy adviser and business partner. “Bliss is about many things: most importantly, the feeling our customers get from our brand.”
